Just Because
by BeneathTheUmbrella
Summary: One-shot. "It had been a long while since a guy had done anything for her "just because". Max had been the master of the "just because" surprises and gifts. And Ted was very much catching up with his constant thoughtful, out-of-the-blue gestures."


_So this is merely a fluff piece. No real plot or anything. But the idea just came to me a couple weeks back after a friend lamented that he couldn't see his girlfriend because she was studying for midterms, and I suggested he stop by her place just with some cake or something to give her a little bit of a break. Don't know if he ever did do it, but I knew it would be something Ted would, so a fic was born! And managed to post it on Valentine's Day, no less. So enjoy, lovelies!_

* * *

Tracy stared at her laptop screen, the red track changes in the Word document she was presently working on, all blurry. She had been editing the 150-page proposal on biodiversity protection and poverty eradication all week. It was the biggest task she had been given at her United Nations internship all summer—maybe it was because she had proven her worth, or maybe it was the fact that she was much older than the other interns and therefore more reliable—but she was taking it very seriously.

She was forced to see very little of Ted all week, only seeing him during her lunch break on Monday and Wednesday, and grabbing a quick drink with him on Tuesday night before heading back to her apartment—alone—to focus on her work. It was hard on both of them. They'd only been seeing each other for two months, and were still in that blissful honeymoon phase of dating, so seeing him so infrequently was not ideal.

But Ted, of course, was very supportive. The past three nights without him had gone smoothly, and with her deadline looming the next morning, she was looking forward to unwinding on Friday night with him. And not the drinks-at-MacLaren's-with-Barney-and-Robin type of unwinding. It was the reward she kept in mind as she continued to read sentence after sentence after sentence.

Tracy balanced the laptop on the arm of the couch, forcing herself to trudge through the final 15 pages. But her eyes were starting to get droopy, and she admittedly was starting to get a little bit bored after three hours of gazing at charts and fact-checking statistics. She thought about maybe calling Ted, just to see how he was doing. Hearing the sound of his voice would be a welcome relief.

Just then, there was a knock on her door. She looked down at her watch: it was 9:30pm. It was most likely Ida from next door; her neighbor was doing some massive baking for a church bake sale that coming weekend, so would occasionally knock on Tracy's door to borrow some flour or sugar. She likely needed something else now.

So Tracy got up off her seat, her legs practically giving out after sitting down for so long, and walked over to the door. She pulled it open, and there was Ted in her hallway, a smile on his lips, a small foam container in his hands. "Hey, beautiful," he said, trying to sound cool and casual, but clearly happy and excited to see her.

"You're not Mrs. O'Donovan," she said, shocked to see him there.

"Thanks for noticing," he said with a light laugh, leaning in for a kiss.

Tracy laughed as well, and kissed him back. "Sorry," she said, ushering him in and shutting the door behind him. "What are you doing here, babe?"

"I know you said you needed to concentrate," he began, reaching an arm out to her waist and pulling her closer to him. "_But_ I came by thinking you might need a little break, since you've been working so hard. And I brought some cheesecake from Lady M!" He waved the foam container in her face.

Tracy's eyes softened. "You went all the way to the East Side just to get me cheesecake? Why?"

He just shrugged his shoulders and gave her a look, a slightly incredulous look that pretty much implied, _Why would I_ not _go to the East Side and get you cake?_ "Just because."

It had been a long while since a guy had done anything for her "just because". Max had been the master of the "just because" surprises and gifts. And Ted was very much catching up with his constant thoughtful, out-of-the-blue gestures. Tracy really _had_ hit the jackpot twice; and she was pretty sure there was no need for her to ever go out and purchase another lottery ticket again.

"Just because, huh?" she teased now, moving closer and letting herself relax in his arms, looking up into his eyes. "Were your motives really all that altruistic?"

Ted blushed. "Ok, I _may_ have missed you, given I didn't see you at all today," he admitted quickly. "_But_ you've been focusing on this proposal all week; I just wanted to make sure you didn't spend the entire evening staring at a computer screen. I love _all_ of you, including your eyeballs." He then shook his head and cursed under his breath, embarrassed at the ridiculousness of his sentence.

Tracy smiled. "That's sweet. And gross," she said, cupping his cheek in her hand and then giving it a couple of tender pats. "Sit. I'll get some us some coffee and forks."

So they settled down onto the couch, Tracy's work forgotten for the time being, feeding one another silky cheesecake and giggling over coffee. Ted told her about his day teaching his summer Perceptions of Architecture class, continuing his summer-long saga of the 19-year-old student who visibly had a crush on him, whose requests for "private one-on-one" tutoring sessions in his office he had to constantly rebuff. He was both amused and annoyed at the situation.

"Should I be jealous?" she teased, taking a sip of her coffee. If she was any other girl and Ted was any other guy, Tracy probably would've wanted to gouge this girl's eyes out. But she was a 28-year-old woman who couldn't be bothered to be insecure over a 19-year-old's infatuation. Plus, she trusted Ted wholly and completely.

Ted just smirked. He placed his mug on the coffee table and then took Tracy's and did the same. "You know that there's only one woman in the world I want to have hot, desktop sex with in my office," he murmured, gently pulling her onto his lap. "You'll have to come by sometime."

"Only if you promise to bring along that _Indiana Jones_ fedora and whip you've been telling me about," she replied coyly, her fingers brushing back his hair. "How many times do I have to tell you about my Indy fetish, _professor_?" She whispered that last word in his ear.

Ted just groaned, and Tracy laughed, kissing the salt-and-pepper hairs of his sideburn. These were the moments Tracy cherished the most. A cuddle on the couch, drinks at the pub, lunch breaks together, post-dinner strolls, Sundays at the beach... It had been a pretty amazing summer so far, with August still ahead of them. Things were going pretty well, and while she didn't have a crystal ball to tell her what their future looked like, Tracy had a pretty good feeling. After all, it was hard to believe otherwise as Ted's thumb and index finger gently grabbed at her chin, turning her head to face his. There was a look of ardent desire, as well as something softer and sweeter, in his eyes.

"God, I love you," he breathed out lovingly, with a touch of amazement in his voice. He gave her one quick, tender gaze before leaning forward to grab at her mouth with his, both a strong-yet-soft attack, his hands alternating between grasping and caressing her hips.

"Mlovyto," she mumbled against his lips, not bothering to withdraw her tongue from where it was tangled with his. Her work was a distant memory as her fingers surreptitiously creeped underneath Ted's t-shirt, feeling his warm skin, a dangerous tease of what she could've been doing if she didn't have that proposal to complete that night.

They continued to make out a bit more, excruciatingly keeping all the action above-the-belt, for obvious reasons. Until Ted eventually pulled away, Tracy tasting the last remnants of coffee and cake from his lips as he detached himself from her. She moaned disapprovingly.

"Ok," began reluctantly, his hands now loosely gripping her sweatshirt, his lips moving close again to kiss her hair. "I should get going, let you get back to your work." He was being so good, she noted. It was going to take a lot of his effort to get up and leave. It was going to take a lot of her effort to let him go.

"Why don't you stay?" she asked softly, giving him a hopeful look. Tracy knew her rule, and knew Ted's powers of distraction and persuasion. But she didn't care. She wanted him close.

"You have work to do," he pointed out. "And as we remember from last time, I am a very bad distraction when you're deep into your work." Ted grinned devilishly; he was only a _little_ bit apologetic over his distracting ways.

"You don't _have_ to be a distraction," she told him. "Just... stay. You know I like having you around."

Ted's eyes lit up, and she had to laugh at his reaction. They were both comfortable and confident in their relationship, but everytime she told him how she felt, he was still surprised that she existed, that her words were real. Tracy was in the same boat: she was amazed at the man before her at times, that he was a part of her life, and that he loved her so fiercely. It was a feeling she never thought she'd feel again.

"Ok," he said softly, smiling. "I'll stay."

So she migrated back over to the other end of the couch, leaving Ted where he was. He turned on the TV, the low sounds of some movie emanating from the screen. Tracy sighed happily—which garnered an amused glance from Ted her way—and went back to her work. The sounds of Ted's presence, whether he's watching a movie, reading a book, or simply snoozing next to her, were always a comfort to Tracy. He fit so perfectly in her home, that nights with him were surely better than nights without him. And him being there (and not attempting to touch or kiss her, of course) allowed her to focus on the project before her.

By 11:30, exhausted, Tracy was done. She emailed the final document to her UN inbox, as well as deposited it into her Dropbox—one can never be too careful, after all—and shut down her tired laptop. She peered over at Ted: his head had rolled back against the couch, his mouth was hanging open, the remote hanging precariously from his loosely opened palm.

_Poor guy_, she thought, scooting over to his side of the couch. Tracy grabbed the remote from his hand, turned off the TV, and set it on the table. As he slept, she allowed herself to watch him for a moment, sleeping and beautiful and vulnerable. She smiled to herself, at her luck, and then leaned over to plant a soft kiss on his forehead. "C'mon, pooh bear, it's bedtime," she whispered, running her fingers through his hair as he stirred awake.

"I'm up!" he said, partly awake, looking up at Tracy with tired eyes. "You done?"

Tracy nodded her head and stood up, reaching her hand out for Ted, as he pulled himself up. He stretched his body, bending lightly backwards, his t-shirt lifting up to reveal his belly, his body quivering slightly, capping it off with a satisfied grunt. "God, that nap felt good," he admitted. He was wide awake now.

She chuckled and pulled him in the direction of the bedroom. "Well, since you're up now," she told him, trying to make sure her voice sounded as sexy and enticing as possible. "Let me take you to bed and give you a little... treat... for being so good tonight and keeping your hands to yourself." She stopped at the threshold of her door and hooked both her index fingers onto his belt loops, pulling him close and pressing her pelvis to his.

Ted's eyes, which eagerly looked down at their joined bodies and then back up at her, betrayed the cool, sly intrigue in his voice. "A treat, huh?" he said coyly, but then turned serious. "I appreciate the offer, baby, I do. But you look tired."

She pretended to be offended at that, giving him a playful glare. "What is _that_ supposed to mean, pooh bear?"

"Er, I mean, tired but _beautiful_!" he said, letting out an embarassed chuckle. "But I'm serious: it's late and you must be exhausted." He soothingly ran his hands up and down her arms. "Why do you want to do this for me?"

Tracy flashed him a smile and offered a shrug of her shoulders. "Just because," she said simply, turning her back to him and entering her room, Ted not far behind.

_THE END_


End file.
